Merlin watched Kay ride off, a look of deep disappointment on his face. He had thought that Kay, who had always seemed so reasonable and easy to talk to, would be someone with a keen eye for talent. But reality had slapped him hard. Not only did Kay refuse to acknowledge Lancelot, but he also gave him a severe beating.
Lancelot, however, didn't hold any resentment toward Kay. He knew that Kay was aware of the truth, and under the circumstances, simply being driven away was the best outcome he could hope for. Merlin helped Lancelot to his feet and encouraged him, "Don't be discouraged, Lancelot. We still have a chance. I can ask other people for help. Yes, someone must be able to help you."
Before Lancelot could speak, Merlin suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "Princess Morgan! Princess Morgan! She can definitely help. She's the most upright and kind-hearted person in all of Camelot, and she'll be willing to help you. More importantly, Princess Morgan is Sir Kay's fiancée, so she can definitely talk some sense into him! I don't know why Sir Kay refused you, but Princess Morgan can surely convince him!"
As he spoke, he turned to leave, planning to find Gwen. Merlin didn't feel comfortable approaching Princess Morgan directly about this, but Gwen could. Gwen was just as impressed with Lancelot as he was. Plus, Merlin knew that Gwen and Lancelot seemed to have a bit of a spark between them, and in that case, Gwen would definitely want to help Lancelot.
"Wait, Merlin!" Lancelot grabbed the excited Merlin's arm, his voice strained. "Don't... don't bother, Merlin."
"Why?" Merlin thought Lancelot was giving up after the blow he'd taken and was about to try and convince him otherwise. But Lancelot's next words sent a chill through him.
"Sir Kay... he seemed to figure out the truth... he knows I'm not a nobleman..." Lancelot felt terrible inside.
From the start, Lancelot hadn't wanted to become a knight this way. He hated lying; Merlin had convinced him to do it. Of course, he wasn't blaming Merlin—he had agreed to Merlin's plan himself. He just felt that this outcome was what he deserved. He was the one who first used deception, so a beating didn't seem out of line at all.
Kay didn't dwell on the thoughts of Lancelot and Merlin. He felt it was fine to let the matter drop. He didn't really have much of a bias against Lancelot, and his dislike wasn't because Lancelot wasn't a noble.
The main reason he was upset was that Lancelot and Merlin were using Arthur!
No matter their motives, their actions were manipulative! Especially Merlin; he had shown Kay a very bad sign. He had kept it a secret from Prince Arthur, forged a fake noble identity for Lancelot, brought Lancelot before Arthur, and didn't hesitate to lie to the Prince.
To Kay, this kind of behavior was worse than them teaming up to deceive him.
Who was Arthur? He was the heir to the throne! Merlin, a mere manservant, and Lancelot, a commoner, were deceiving the lord they were supposed to serve for their own benefit. No matter how many excuses they had, this behavior was unacceptable!
Was there really any fundamental difference between this and what corrupt officials did?
Some argued that Merlin had no selfish motives, that he simply admired Lancelot and wanted to repay him for saving his life, and his intentions were good.
That explanation was pure garbage!
If your intentions are good, does that mean your mistakes can be forgiven? What kind of logic is that? Today, Merlin could deceive Arthur to repay Lancelot's kindness. In the future, if Merlin lies to Arthur for some other reason, can that be excused too?
More importantly, what did Merlin see Arthur as? A tool to achieve his goals?
If Merlin wasn't the legendary important figure destined to advise Arthur, Kay would have kicked him out along with Lancelot! After this incident, Kay decided he would have to keep a very close eye on Merlin. He was still too young and simply unable to fulfill his duty of advising Arthur; he was just a kid.
Kay promptly put the matter out of his mind. After such an obvious warning, Lancelot should understand that he had been shown exceptional mercy, and Merlin should have been warned as well. He felt it was best to end the issue there.
After a day of training, Kay made an excuse and went to the deepest part of the dungeons beneath the castle. There was a dark, deep passage that led straight to a cavern deep underground, which was where King Uther kept the last remaining dragon in the world locked up.
Twenty years ago, King Uther had set out to purge everything related to magic, and that included the dragons. The one in the cavern was spared, kept as a warning to demonstrate Camelot's power to all the sorcerers and mages who might wish the kingdom harm.
Like in all myths and legends, dragons are the most powerful magical creatures. Their scales are like iron, they can cast spells, and they can breathe fire. They are seen as the embodiment of power. Many noble families feature dragon elements in their crests; for example, Arthur's emblem is a Red Dragon.
This alone showed just how powerful Camelot was.
After walking through a dark, damp passage, Kay finally reached the Dragon's Den. It was a huge underground space, maybe two or three hundred feet below the surface. The dragon was shackled there by a magical chain; unless someone helped to unlock it, it would be trapped forever until death finally arrived.
The dragon was resting on a protruding stone platform high up in the cavern. Kay's footsteps startled it awake. With a flurry of beating wings, the dragon, chains and all, descended from above, landing on an outcropping of rock.
When it saw who had arrived, the dragon was very surprised.
"Kay! You actually returned to Camelot!"
Kay wasn't surprised. He calmly placed the torch he held into a bracket on the passage wall, then turned back to greet the dragon.
"Yes, it's been a long time, Canthara (Dragon name adapted). I warned you to stay far away. Why did you still let yourself be captured?" Kay looked at his old acquaintance and said with a sigh.
The dragon, Canthara, folded its wings, settled down on the rock, and stretched its massive head toward Kay.
"Everyone has something they care about. As for me, I cared about my own kind. I couldn't just stand by and watch King Uther slaughter them. So, I decided to join the fight. It looks like your warning was correct, but the outcome is better than I expected. At least I'm alive, and as long as I live, I will avenge my brethren one day!" Canthara's tone toward Kay was far from friendly.
However, they weren't exactly friends, to begin with. Kay had met the dragon ten years ago, not long after he ran away from home. He encountered it in the border forest of Camelot. In Camelot, a knight meeting a dragon was bound to result in a fight.
Though Kay was still relatively green back then, his combat ability was already formidable. The dragon, still recovering from serious injuries sustained ten years prior from King Uther's sneak attack, wasn't fully healed when they met. Comparing the two, they were evenly matched.
Kay couldn't kill Canthara, and Canthara couldn't kill Kay. They tangled for about two months, fighting dozens of times, with neither gaining an advantage over the other. Surprisingly, over time, a strange kind of bond formed. To say they became immediate friends would be an exaggeration, but they certainly developed a mutual respect.